Help with Linux Mint

[Marvzl1357]

Hullo,

I originally posted this in operating systems and software, would be better off here.

Link to original http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/158362-help-with-linux-mint/

Original:

I've tried installing linux mint 16 onto my old laptop to dual boot with windows 7. Obviously, I set it to "install alongside windows 7"

I created a new partition through Mint to install Mint on, and set the partition position to be "at the end" (don't know if that's any significance), and the mount point to be /.

Now that it's "installed" it isn't letting me boot into windows OR Mint, it just sits there with the blinking console underscore thing and makes sounds when I type anything. 

So...I went back to the Mint install usb drive to check what it's done to my drives. It's showing that my previous partition is now a "Linux Mint 16 Petra (16)" system, and so is the supposed Mint partition...

Anyone know what might have happened and/or how I can fix it?

Help appreciated.

 

Follow-up:

So...coming back with the bootable usb, I went to the disk management/viewers and found that mint has quite kindly (sarcasm) installed mint onto the main partition and is showing that I have 379 of 410 GB free...

SO...I assume that means it has kindly deleted my windows 7 files for me?

[Marvzl1357]

Update:

I got my usb to sata cable and plugged the Mint drive into my other laptop.

Drive doesn't show up in my computer. It's spinning, but that's about all, I guess it's good bye windows 7 then...

[SunriseRedeemer]

That sounds like linux had installed over the top of your windows partition. I think it probably would have been best to create the partition through windows therefore it would not go over any of the files that windows needs.

 

I'm not sure if it can be fixed without formatting the drive and re-installing both? Don't take my word for that though, someone else may have some more experience with this.

 

Do you have a windows disk to see if you can do a system restore?

[Lord Gaben]

This is why I always use the something else option so nothing gets stuffed up by the installer as you do the partitioning yourself

[Lord Gaben]

Update:

I got my usb to sata cable and plugged the Mint drive into my other laptop.

Drive doesn't show up in my computer. It's spinning, but that's about all, I guess it's good bye windows 7 then...

Open Computer Management then go to Disk Management, does it show up there?

[Marvzl1357]

That sounds like linux had installed over the top of your windows partition. I think it probably would have been best to create the partition through windows therefore it would not go over any of the files that windows needs.

 

I'm not sure if it can be fixed without formatting the drive and re-installing both? Don't take my word for that though, someone else may have some more experience with this.

 

Do you have a windows disk to see if you can do a system restore?

Nah, don't have a disc, the laptop was issued by the school, and nothing came with it other than the charger and a bag. 

Eh, It doesn't particularly bother me, all my work was backed up anyway, and I was going to use it for linux mint anyway too. So it really isn't too bad for me

[Marvzl1357]

Open Computer Management then go to Disk Management, does it show up there?

yes, it does, but it won't let me "initialize disk" and comes up with "data error (cyclic redundancy check)" 

Apparently that means the drive is saving itself from overwriting raw data

[Lord Gaben]

yes, it does, but it won't let me "initialize disk" and comes up with "data error (cyclic redundancy check)" 

Apparently that means the drive is saving itself from overwriting raw data

open diskpart and initialize the drive on your other laptop

 

1. Select disk - select disk "no."

 

e.g - select disk 1

You can tell what disk it is by what Disk Management's Disk number is for the disk

 

2.Zero fill Drive - clean all 

3 initialize disk for BIOS system windows boot disk - convert mbr

4 OR initialize disk for UEFI system windows boot disk - convert gpt

[SunriseRedeemer]

In that case I'd probably just wipe the laptop, easy fix  

 

Unless there is anything on the laptop you really need you could try this.. not sure that would even work though, installing linux may have completely killed windows.
 

http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/how-to-create-a-windows-rescue-usb-stick-984726

[Lord Gaben]

In that case I'd probably just wipe the laptop, easy fix

 

Unless there is anything on the laptop you really need you could try this.. not sure that would even work though, installing linux may have completely killed windows.

 

http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/how-to-create-a-windows-rescue-usb-stick-984726

That was what I am showing him what to do, He just has a serious problem with the disk where when he is trying to wipe it throught the GUI partitioner it fails, I think the disk is corrupt

[Marvzl1357]

open diskpart and initialize the drive

Oh yeah, forgot about diskpart

How do you go about wiping the drive?

I've tried

>select disk 2 

>clean

>format fs=ntfs

and that's where it stops, saying that the error is the cyclic redundancy check

[Lord Gaben]

Oh yeah, forgot about diskpart

How do you go about wiping the drive?

I've tried

>select disk 2 

>clean

>format fs=ntfs

and that's where it stops, saying that the error is the cyclic redundancy check

use clean all instead of clean, clean only wipes the record of the files from the file allocation table, the files are marked as free space but are not gone until writen over with new data (normal format), clean all wipe all data and replaces them with zeros (hence the name zero filling) and you have to make a partition before you format the partition as NTFS

[Marvzl1357]

use clean all instead of clean, clean only wipes the record of the files from the file allocation table, the files are marked as free space but are not gone until writen over with new data (normal format), clean all wipe all data and replaces them with zeros (hence the name zero filling) and you have to make a partition before you format the partition as NTFS

Ah, thanks, I see you've edited your other post, I'll follow that and see how it turns out

Edit: failed at second step due to, you guessed it, cyclic redundancy check

[Lord Gaben]

Ah, thanks, I see you've edited your other post, I'll follow that and see how it turns out

Edit: failed at second step due to, you guessed it, cyclic redundancy check

is your system BIOS or UEFI

[Marvzl1357]

is your system BIOS or UEFI

uefi, from what I remember

[Lord Gaben]

uefi, from what I remember

if it is UEFI try this type the following commands into diskpart

 

select disk 2

 

convert gpt

 

clean all

 

 

Then from there try installing Windows on it, do the partitioning in the Windows setup it would be easier

[Marvzl1357]

if it is UEFI try this type the following commands into diskpart

 

select disk 2

 

convert gpt

 

clean all

 

 

Then from there try installing Windows on it, do the partitioning in the Windows setup it would be easier

HOLY.BALLS!!!

THE FREAKING CYCLIC REDUNDANCY CHECK IS DOING MY HEAD IN.

Every guide just goes "type 'format gpt' then blahblahblah it works. Magic." 

And I'm just here smashing my head against the desk because that's exactly where it fails. BECAUSE OF CYCLIC FREAKING REDUNDANCY CHECK

what the hell have I done to my drive to deserve this T_T... I'm sorry disk 2... I promise I won't hurt you if you just work this time

I suppose it is a largely my fault though...

I might give it a go formatting it through Linux Mint, that might work, since Linux is actually able to read the drive

[Marvzl1357]

Well...Linux Mint seemed happy to read the drive, I ended up just having a pure install of linux mint 16. 

I never really used that laptop much anyway, and all the work was migrated off it. 

 

 

[Lord Gaben]

Well...Linux Mint seemed happy to read the drive, I ended up just having a pure install of linux mint 16. 

I never really used that laptop much anyway, and all the work was migrated off it. 

Cool, That was what I was going to recommend if the diskpart method did not work, if you really wanted to, you could have wiped the disk in the linux USB drive then install windows and then linux mint